Bajan Creole

Bajan
Bajan
Native to	Barbados
Native speakers	259,000
Language family	English Creole Atlantic Eastern Southern Bajan; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bjs
Linguasphere	52-ABB-ar
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Bajan is an English-based creole language.^[1] People on the Caribbean island of Barbados speak it. Bajan, like many other English-based Caribbean creole languages, has a West African substrate and an English superstrate. Bajan is similar but different from the creoles of neighbouring Caribbean islands.

Bajan is the Caribbean creole with the closest grammar to Standard English.^[2]

In general, the people of Barbados speak standard British English on TV and radio, in courthouses, in government, and in day-to-day business. Bajan is for less formal situations, in music, or in social commentary.

References[change | change source]

↑ Burrowes, Audrey. (1983). "Barbadian Creole: A note on its social history and structure". Studies in Caribbean Language. St. Augustine, Trinidad: Society for Caribbean Linguistics, pp. 38-45.
↑ Hancock (1980:22), citing Le Page (1957:58–59)

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[1] Burrowes, Audrey. (1983). "Barbadian Creole: A note on its social history and structure". Studies in Caribbean Language. St. Augustine, Trinidad: Society for Caribbean Linguistics, pp. 38-45.

[2] Hancock (1980:22), citing Le Page (1957:58–59)

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